Amazon’s Acquisition of PillPack is Major Disruption in the Healthcare Market

CIO Bulletin

June 30, 2018

Amazon makes it official; the retail giant enters the healthcare market by acquiring PillPack Inc., which is an online full-service pharmacy that sorts medications in the prescription by dose and does a doorstep delivery. The company announces its $1 Billion (or even low) acquisition and the deal is likely to close in the second half of this year.

Amazon’s acquisition of PillPack has taken the stock markets by storm and the stock prices of pharmacies like Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS fell dramatically, losing approximately $11 billion in combined market value. On the other hand, Amazon shares gained 2.1 percent after the announcement, gaining $16B in market value on Thursday alone.

Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s CEO of Worldwide Consumers said, “PillPack is meaningfully improving its customers’ lives…We’re excited to see what we can do together for customers over time”. However, this acquisition isn’t Amazon’s first healthcare venture. The company, this January, announced a partnership with Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase to form an independent healthcare company that mainly focuses on providing healthcare services to its employees. The trio even went on to announce renowned physician and researcher Dr. Atul Gawande as the CEO of the unnamed company, yet to be launched in the United States.

“Together with Amazon, We are eager to continue working with partners across the healthcare industry to help U.S people benefit from a better pharmacy experience,” said TJ Parker, CEO, and Co-Founder of PillPack, and he would continue to support PillPack’s operations post-acquisition.